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MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS
What Buddy Up is all about
Buddy Up is a mental health awareness and suicide prevention program developed with the Centre for Suicide Prevention and fully integrated into how we work at CSV. It gives every employee and contractor the awareness to notice when someone might be struggling and the confidence to reach out, listen, and connect them to help.
It is the first program of its kind in Canada’s energy sector because it brings a nationally recognized suicide prevention framework directly into daily operations. Built from the ground up in partnership with the Centre for Suicide Prevention, Buddy Up combines mandatory training, a tiered skills system, and visible site-wide support to make suicide prevention part of everyday safety practice.
Both our Calgary office and our field teams take this training. It creates shared awareness across the company so people know what to look for and how to offer support, no matter where they work.
Buddy Up is helping shift workplace culture across CSV sites by encouraging help-offering, not just help-seeking. We focus on building trust, reducing stigma, and creating a workplace where people feel supported.
RECOGNIZING WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON
Where Buddy Up began for us
Buddy Up began at CSV after a difficult moment in the field. A crew was working long stretches away from home when tensions and behaviour at work started to change. What first looked like a workplace problem turned out to be something deeper. People were struggling and did not know how to ask for help. Instead of walking away, our leadership took the time to listen, to understand what was really happening, and to respond with compassion. That moment changed how we think about safety, responsibility, and care. It showed us that real leadership means paying attention to the person behind the work, and it inspired the creation of Buddy Up so no one would have to face that kind of struggle alone again.
Working with the Centre for Suicide Prevention, CSV built on that model to create a version designed for Canada’s energy sector, one that fits the realities of field work and the people who do it. It combines awareness, training, and visible support systems to make mental health care a shared responsibility across every site and every team.
When CSV set out to create a system that made mental health part of safety, we looked to programs that had already changed the culture of heavy industry. One of them was MATES, a leading Australian initiative in the construction industry that showed how peer-to-peer support and structured training could prevent suicide in high-risk, male-dominated sectors like construction, mining, and energy. MATES proved that when workers are equipped to notice warning signs and start a conversation, lives can be saved and stigma can be reduced.
COLOUR-CODED SUPPORT SYSTEM
Making mental health visible
Every person who completes Buddy Up training receives a hardhat sticker that shows their level of suicide prevention training. These colours make it easy to identify who has what training and remind everyone that mental health is part of safety, not separate from it. Together, these colours form a visible network of care across every CSV site. They remind people that support is close by and that everyone has a role to play in keeping each other safe.
Everyone on site starts as a Buddy. Buddies complete the Buddy Up webinar, which introduces the signs that someone might be having a hard time and how to start a safe, supportive conversation.
A gold sticker shows that the person has completed the training and is ready to reach out when someone needs support.
Connectors take part in safeTALK (Suicide Alertness for Everyone) training. This half-day workshop helps participants recognize warning signs, ask directly about suicide, and connect someone to the right supports.
A red sticker represents action and confidence, showing who is trained to act as a bridge between Buddies and Supporters.
Supporters complete ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid. They are trained to intervene when someone is thinking about suicide, help them stay safe, and connect them to longer-term resources.
A blue sticker represents leadership and intervention, showing who can provide immediate support in crisis situations.
CHANGING HOW WE THINK ABOUT HELP
From help-seeking to help-offering
Many mental health programs focus on encouraging people to ask for help. At CSV, we believe it is just as important to build a culture where people also offer it. In field work, long hours, distance from home, and the pressures of the job can make it hard to reach out. That is why Buddy Up trains everyone to notice when something seems off and to take the first step.
Help-offering means not waiting for someone to speak up. It means starting a conversation, checking in, and making sure people know they are not alone. This approach builds trust within teams and removes the stigma that can keep people silent.
By making help-offering a shared responsibility, we are shifting how safety and care work together. Everyone has a role to play, and that shared awareness strengthens both our people and our culture.
CREATING SHARED VALUE THROUGH CARE
Creating Shared Value means building solutions that benefit both our company and the people connected to it. Buddy Up does this by strengthening mental health support, improving safety, and deepening the relationships that link our worksites to surrounding communities.
When our teams are trained to recognize and respond to mental health challenges, the impact reaches beyond the workplace. It leads to safer crews, more open communication, and stronger communities.
By making care and awareness part of how we operate, Buddy Up creates shared value every day. It helps people feel supported, builds trust across teams, and contributes to the wellbeing of the regions where we work.
Buddy up training
Buddy Up training is open to everyone at CSV. It only takes a few minutes to learn how to notice when someone might be struggling and how to reach out safely. Completing the training strengthens our shared culture of care and connection.
Support for every mental health journey
Mental health looks different for everyone. Buddy Up was created with the Centre for Suicide Prevention to build awareness and care across our teams. We also recognize that people may seek different kinds of support at different times. The organizations below offer additional resources, guidance, and services that many individuals and families across Alberta have found helpful. If you or someone you care about needs immediate support, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide Crisis Helpline, available 24/7.
CMHA Alberta offers counselling, education, and community programs that support people through a wide range of mental health journeys. Their work helps individuals and families find connection, stability, and the right resources when they need it.
The Centre for Suicide Prevention provides training, research, and tools that help people recognize when someone may be struggling and how to offer support. Their programs are widely used across Canada.